'NYPD Blue' actor Gordon Clapp ready for Nora's 'Fiftieth Reunion'

Gordon Clapp is missing his 50th high school reunion so that he can star in “The Midvale High School Fiftieth Reunion.” The irony isn’t lost on him. He laughs.

That’s right – Gordon Clapp. Does the name ring a bell? The guy probably spent an hour in your living room every Tuesday night for 12 years. He won an Emmy Award for playing Detective Greg Medavoy in the ABC cop drama “NYPD Blue.” (Remember the loveable redheaded Everyman who was in an awkwardly charming romance with the Marilyn Monroe-like receptionist? That’s him.)

The show was known for its bad language, bare butts and the fact that creator-writer David Milch was quietly ushering in a new golden age of television that continues to this day.

“Absolutely,” says Clapp, when asked if he knew how lucky he was at the time.

It’s a long way from a Los Angeles soundstage to the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, where Clapp stars in “Midvale High School Fiftieth Reunion,” June 1 to July 2. But the actor is also back where he began. The New Hampshire native now owns a house in Norwich, Vermont, as he transitions from screen to stage.

“I’m doing less film and TV and more theater,” says Clapp, who has a recurring role on “Chicago Fire.” “I thought I’d love to do something in Boston, so this worked out.”

Returning to your past – it’s like a theme from “Midvale High.” The play, written by MIT theater professor emeritus Alan Brody, follows Tom and Bettina, old classmates who connect at their 50th reunion. They didn’t really know each other as students – she was a star of the class and he was a wallflower – but they’re finding common ground as adults.

“He realizes he’s made a lot of mistakes in life and held himself back,” says Clapp. “He decides he needs to come out of his shell and engage with people more. He’s a little socially inept. He keeps saying, ‘I’m not very good at this sort of thing.’ He’s lucky he finds her that night. They’re kindred spirits who meet in a crowded room.”

And have flashbacks. The play delves into the idea of memory, as the audience sees both the present and the past.

“Their conversation is interrupted by these memory scenes,” says Clapp. Bettina “is a neuroscientist, so she’s interested in memory in a very scientific way. He’s just trying to remember things,” Clapp adds with a laugh.

Clapp found the Nora Theatre through a friend who worked with the small Cambridge-based company. When he went to an opening night performance, Clapp met Lee Mikeska Gardner, who’s directing “Midvale High.” She said they should work on something together, and when Clapp learned more about this project, he thought it made sense.

“I’m at a time in my life when I’m reflecting on the same things as these characters,” says Clapp, who’s attended a fair number of high school and college reunions over the years. “He’s a really fun character to play, and there are some nice surprises about him in the play.”

Maybe it’s fitting that Clapp is in a play about memories, because he’s built some beauties. His theater resume includes a Tony nomination for a high-profile revival of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” in New York in 2005. And his film career got off to a great start when he was cast in John Sayles’ charming independent film, “Return of the Secaucus Seven.”

But all of that is eclipsed by his role on “NYPD Blue.” It was an actor’s dream to work for David Milch, still regarded as one of the great drama writers in TV history. But that doesn’t mean it was always blissful on the set.

David Caruso, the star of the show in the first season, quickly developed a reputation as a difficult and demanding actor. In his memoir, “NYPD” producer Steven Bochco called Caruso’s behavior “cancerous.”

Clapp doesn’t use that adjective, but the phrase “pain in the ass” comes to mind.

“I knew David before we worked together on the show,” says Clapp. “I really liked the guy, but I knew he was a pain in the ass. It’s like he was haunted by the ghost of Jimmy Cagney, or something. He thought he should be in films. David was a tortured performer. He was hard on the writers, he was hard on the actors, he was hard on everyone.”

On the other hand, Clapp has only praise for the show’s other star, Dennis Franz.

“Dennis was at the other end of the spectrum,” says Clapp. “Dennis was like, ‘Hey, I was in Vietnam; acting isn’t that hard.’ I mean, he never said that exactly, but that seemed to be his attitude. His work ethic was amazing. It doesn’t surprise me that he hasn’t done another TV series. I think when he walked off that set, he thought, ‘That’s enough of that.’ “

Clapp embraces his shift to stage work, but it comes at a cost. Literally. He’s probably not exaggerating when he says that he can make more money in one day of shooting “Chicago Fire” than a year’s worth of theater.

“The problem is that in TV, they sometimes cast roles only one or two days ahead [of filming],” he says. “But in theater, they cast up to a year in advance. It drives my agents crazy, because they want me to be available for television roles. It’s hard. But I prefer doing theater now. I prefer it everywhere, except when I’m in line at the bank, looking down at my paycheck.”